Earthlings | Sayaka Murata REVIEW

I have no words for this book because I don't know how to describe it in the simplest way I could.

I expected it to be disturbing and weird, after all the reviews I read about it from my mutual book reviewers and truly their words don't do justice to what you're going to read when starting this book.

We follow the protagonist of the story, Natsuki, starting in her young age of eleven. But sadly, only at eleven, she feels she's abnormal because she doesn't think how other people think and making herself an anomaly. She's distant from her family and is convinced that she was chosen by an extraterrestrial being to become their warrior and fight back the evil forces that takes over her small town.

Every summer, Natsuki goes back to her hometown where she reunites with her favourite cousin, Yuu, because he believes that he's an alien and Natsuki humours him with the thought and they both bond together with plans to leave Earth and save the world.

If only life were that easy.

Natsuki is alienated by her own family because she won't conform to normalcy. She's been neglected, brushed off when she tries to reach out to her parents that her cram school tutor touches her inappropriately. It's hard for Natsuki to resume life when nobody cares to listen to her, especially after she is violated from the same teacher.

She lost some hearing from one ear, and her sense of taste was lost.

She did unspeakable things with Yuu when they meet up again for summer, because she believes that she has to claim her own body with her choices before somebody else made the decision for her. That was the last time she ever saw Yuu and her beloved hometown.

Time passed, and Natsuki has gotten married, but only out of convenience. An asexual marriage is needed for her and her partner to keep off their respective families off their back to urge them to get married quickly and have children, just like the rest of the locals in their small town.

But Natsuki still feels indifferent. She refuses to conform to society and he partner feels the same way. When the chance to go back to Natsuki's hometown arises, she brings her partner along and reunites with Yuu once again. They compromised, they bonded together as well, and they finally reached nirvana in their own twisted way of thinking.

I'm going to list out everything this book compromised of because if my description of the book wasn't enough to throw you off, this list might:

1. Child neglect

2. Rape

3. Sexual assault

4. Self mutilation

5. Graphic depictions of violence

6. Graphic depictions of death

7. Cannibalism

8. Incest

If I had known what this book consists of, I would have steered clear away because I don't need it to influence my mental health from start to finish.

I pity these characters, because of the way they express their feelings of how constantly they feel like they don't belong. No matter how hard they try to trick themselves to become a part of society, they are still treated like outliers. And based on the narrative, it's become to normalized for Natsuki, it's normal for her.

This book is meant to make you uncomfortable. It doesn't romanticize the descriptions, but more so explicitly describes the scene because that's how Natsuki sees it without remorse and without feeling disgusted. It's because she believes she is inhuman that she does those acts freely because they are inhuman; no sane person does that.

This book is my first dive into this sort of genre, and I have to say I don't like it. I am intrigued, but the after taste it left me after finishing it makes me feel like I need something to take me out of my misery. It makes me feel despair, and some sort of dread hanging over me because of what happened to the characters at the end of the book.

I think they all died at the end, there is no possible way for them to be saved. It's best for them, because they all suffered enough and the only way for them to rest easy is to just die.

I read a really nice, lighthearted and fun book after this to convince myself that the world is not like this book all the time.

I enjoyed it nonetheless, in a sick twisted way, so 4-stars from me.